Making Colour

Making Colour

From lapis lazuli to cobalt blue, to dazzling gold and silver - travel through the story of colour with the National Gallery.

Making Purple: The Science of Art

Visit the National Gallery's Scientific Department to see how the blue and red pigments traditionally mixed to make purple paint are analysed and identified. The methods used range from state-of-the-art electron microscopy to recreating historic meth...

Making Green: Tempera versus Oil

Watch a painting demonstration to learn about the different properties of green pigments bound in egg tempera and those mixed with oil, and see how these were used to achieve very different effects in masterpieces from the National Gallery's collecti...

Curators in Conversation

Ashok Roy, Director of Collections, and Caroline Campbell, Curator of Italian Paintings before 1500, in conversation about the 'Making Colour' exhibition.